Branches - Two Fates. One Tale

Crossroads

The wind spurred her on, pushing her forward as she walked up the small hill, towards their meeting point. Her lantern swung back and forth in her grasp, squeaking loudly. The sun had dropped beneath the horizon, ditching the sky in a pinkish red.

She sighed. This might be last dusk she'd ever see again. Either she would die or she would free herself from the slings of destiny. From the day she was born she was like a leaf tossed by the winds of fate. Today this leaf would straighten up or fall down.

The split willow tree waved its crown in the wind as if it was greeting. It was said to have been split by a god with a bolt of thunder, enraged by a foolish man's wish for a second life to undo his sins.

All Mayura could see was a tree with two divided trunks, one having outgrown out of the other naturally. Nonetheless she could not deny how her heart sped up and how her skin started to tingle at the sight of the large tree towering over the meadow and the sound of its leaves rustling like jingles of a tambourine.

He was not there yet.

Stopping a few feet away from the object, she let her gaze run over the field, scanning her surroundings. Remote from the road she came with this area was mostly untouched. The only ones who used this part of the countrysides were shepherds letting their sheep and cows graze the grass of the heath close to the village.

From where Mayura was standing, up on the hill, she could see far into any direction. The only smart position for an ambush was the grove nearby and though she could not rule out the possibility of someone hiding in the thicket of the undergrowth, she could see everything exiting that small forest.

The sundown, the weaving leaves of the willow tree, the breeze of the wind, it felt almost – peaceful.

If it weren't for the imminent fight, she would sit down with her back leaned against the trunk and watch the last ray of sunlight disappear.

Instead she waited for the monster she had been told about since the day of her birth to appear in front of her.

And just as she thought this, she spotted a lone, cloaked figure cross the fields, coming from the north.

-------------------------------------------

From beneath the hood, which shielded him from the last but deadly rays of the sun, he gazed at her, while crossing the distance between them.

Mayura Otomi truly was the one supposed to bring him fall like he'd assumed.

Right now she looked down on him, standing high on the hill next to the willow tree. She did not budge an inch. Blonde stains of hair flew around her face, having escaped their capture of the ponytail. Like the first time he'd seen her she was wearing trousers, tucked into high boots and a vest complimenting her form.

"I am glad you actually came," Shimon said while taking the last few strides uphill.

She licked her lips, showing the first sign of emotions. Her eyes skipped from his eyes to his mouth. Her sharp intake of breath pierced his ears. "Stop talking," She grabbed the hilt of the sword, sticking out from her hip. A different sword from the one she had left behind in Sayo's chamber. With a firmer voice she continued, "I won't let you deceive me another time."

He ignored the sting in his chest and murmured, "It was neither what I wanted nor what I planned when I came to Narukami."

"And what do you want beside killing innocent people?"

Again the same question. What did he want indeed?

"Freedom. It's all I want," he said the first thing on his mind and added as an afterthought, "Wanted."